Setting Information
The city of Närwick is divided among three recognized "sections", with each one containing several districts. Northern Approach The Northern Approach is, of course, the northernmost section of the city, bordering the nearby woods, hills, and mountains that seem to go on for an indefinite distance past the city's edge. It has a somewhat suburban, spacious feel to it, with fewer and smaller buildings and less in the way of overall infrastructure. Since it's the furthest part of town from the Nexus, it's also considered one of the more stable parts of the town, less prone to random "flare ups" of the supernatural. Of course, no part of Närwick is without the touch of the unknown, it's simply less spontaneous. The Dying Hills are northwest of the city, a chain of small mountains and sloping hillsides. While the exact geography of the city isn't exactly spoken of, it's said by some that the area served as a battleground decades ago, in one of the great wars (being largely rumor, of course, nobody can tell you WHICH war). This myth is perhaps backed up by the deathly resonance of the area, a fair number of ghosts, seeming to take on the guises of soldiers, bearing nondescript uniforms and weaponry, wandering the area. Supernatural denizens have likely heard the rumor that an Elder Kindred sleeps beneath those mountains, in an underground structure that acts as an anchor for the patrolling specters. In the other direction is the Blackened Woods, an expanse of forest that varies from dark and foreboding to downright deadly. The Gauntlet is incredibly thin in the area, with materialized spirits seeming to be almost as common as more mundane animals in some areas. A pack of oddly feral Werewolves is said to patrol the area, but the Forsaken of the city aren't sure if they're of the Pure or something else entirely. Downtown The downtown area is in a state of turmoil and dichotomy. Most who think of the "Downtown" area think of Dionysus Row, the district where the majority of the city's taverns, clubs, and less moral forms of entertainment can be found. Flooded with the mundane, the supernatural is somewhat quelled here, the Nexus' ripples having little effect on the populated center. Of course, several of the businesses in the area are run by the more human-centric creatures of the night, both as a haven from the surrounding dangers and for a connection to potential contacts... or prey. The Nexus of the city, however, is its true center, located within the similarly named church inside Saint Aemilianus' Watchway. The area is sparsely populated, most knowing it to be dangerous, even if they're unsure why, though a group of Hunters, something between a Compact and localized Conspiracy, going by the name of Aemilianus' Crusaders, controls and resides within the area. They're said to keep a fair number of miscellaneous creatures from escaping the Nexus, but at the same time, do not in any way differentiate between an ephemeral intruder and any other supernatural. As such, the city's supernatural population avoids it just as completely as most of the mundane sorts do. Some rare few, of course, will risk going a bit closer, the draw of the Mystery of the Nexus to much to avoid entirely. Shoreline District The south end of Närwick pushes into the bordering Sea, the stretch varying between gently sloped shores to blatant cliff-sides that drop right into the depths below, and then back down again to the Harbor. Organized crime seems to work out of the area, though is not so prevalent, violent, or unavoidable as it is in some downtown neighborhoods. Those few "native" Kindred tend to stick to this area more than Downtown, especially in Old Town, for reasons of tradition, but there aren't enough of them to really claim it as their "territory", so many others can be found around there as well. Old Town, aptly nicknamed the "Stone Roost", is directly south of the Watchway, and very historical in design, containing sturdy, centuries-old structures said to predate the foundation of the main city itself. A walk from the Watchway up the stretch into the Stone Roost can be almost like slowly traveling back in time, as paved roads give way to brick give way to stone, and the buildings regress from modern sensibilities, to classical structures, to a well preserved castle at the height of the district, walled off from the cliffside and overlooking the waters below. The castle itself is actually owned by the Council, and those few they call to meet with them are brought there late at night, when tourists and mundane folk are closed off from the historical site. To the west of the Roost is the simply named Närwick Beachfront, which varies from what seems almost like seaside homes and resort-like spas to decrepit, unkempt rocky shores, only a small portion of the Beach actually maintained and watched over. Because of that, many supernatural creatures will meet in the area informally, whether with their own or with others, or make use of it for experiments or other hidden activities of one kind or another. Finally, the eastern Harbor is rarely used, an occasional boat with unknowing travelers coming in, as does the occasional sighting of a cargo ship that always seems to be manned by the same, largely unresponsive, people, bringing in whatever supplies the city can't produce for itself. Away from the harbor is where most of the city's factories, manufacturing plants, and warehouses are found, as well as some overly cheap housing favored by a criminally inclined cabal of mages and the organization they've built around themselves. Other Realms The Hedge The Shadow The Underworld Mysterious Places